“Paladin Labs Inc.’s experimental drug to treat a rare parasitic disease is effective and safe enough to be approved, an advisory panel to the [FDA] said on Friday,” Reuters reports. “The drug, Impavido, is designed to treat three forms of leishmaniasis, a disease caused by a group of parasites known as Leishmania, which are spread by the bite of a female sand fly,” the news service notes. “Impavido was granted priority review by the FDA, a status that cuts the review time to six months from the standard 10,” Reuters notes, adding, “The FDA is not bound to follow its advisory panel’s advice but typically does so” (Clarke, 10/18).